A Wild Goose Chase Christmas: Quilts of Love Series Read Online Free Page B

in? “Barry, you scared me.”
    “Sorry.” He stepped toward her, cheeks slightly flushed. “Who’s Max? If you don’t mind me asking.”
    “What? Oh, no, of course not.” Izzy knew full well that Barry had a crush on her. He was sweet, but after three years of teaching together she was no more romantically interested in him now than on the day they’d met. Playing up Max to be something he wasn’t could be her key to moving out of Barry’s sights. But it wouldn’t be very nice to lie to him. “Max is assisting me with my grandmother’s estate.”
    He frowned and tugged on the bottom of his sweater vest. “I was so sorry to hear about your grandmother, Izzy. Is there anything I can do?”
    Izzy smiled, just enough to let him know she appreciated his concern but not so much as to encourage more attention. “No, I’ll be fine.”
    “OK.” He nodded and turned for the door. Then he stopped and looked back. “Can I walk you to your car?”
    “You go ahead. I have a few things to do here first.”
    Barry smiled and left. Izzy took her time gathering her books and folders. Then she pushed the projector cart back into the audiovisual cabinet and locked it. A motorized rumble came from the parking lot. She looked out the window in time to see Barry’s white VW Bug chugging by.
    Snatching her bag off the desk, she gave the room one last look then rushed out the door and down the hall. If she hurried, she could get to the YMCA and fit in a good hour of water aerobics before it was time to meet her mother and brother at the church to go over the final details of Gran’s funeral.

    Izzy steered her old Honda into a parking spot, braking to a sudden stop. Her chest jerked against the seat belt, which pushed her backward so that her head thudded against the headrest. Standing beneath a leafless tree in front of the door to the church office, Janice Fontaine uncrossed her arms long enough to lower her sunglasses and look over the frame rim at her daughter. She shook her head, lips tight and drawn together, then pushed the glasses back into position and recrossed her arms.
    Izzy smiled through the windshield, but on the inside she scolded herself. She shouldn’t have taken the time to go to the Y. All the relaxation she’d felt after moving and stretching in the water was gone now, her muscles stiffening under Janice’s displeased stare. Izzy pulled back her now dry hair and secured it with the ponytail holder she’d kept around her wrist. Just once, it would be nice if Mom would cut her some slack. Especially at a time like this.
    Snatching the file folder from the passenger seat, Izzy left the car and walked toward her mother.
    “Hi, Mom.”
    “Let me guess. You’ve just come from the pool.” That was it. No preamble. No greeting. Just the accusation.
    Izzy nodded her head, fingers tightening on the edge of the folder. “I did.”
    “If I’d known you were so drawn to swimming, I wouldn’t have wasted all that money on dance lessons when you were younger.” Janice looked in Izzy’s direction, and though she couldn’t see her mother’s eyes behind the smoked lenses of her glasses, Izzy was certain she looked past her, not at her.
    “You know why I swim,” Izzy said. “It’s good for me. It helps my joints.”
    Janice took a deep breath and her lips softened, the corners lowering and spreading out. “Yes, I know. I’m glad it helps you.” She pointed at the folder. “What do you have in there?”
    Before Izzy could say, she was cut off by the roar of a high-performance engine. Looking over her shoulder, she saw a sleek sports car zip through the parking lot. With a squeal of brakes it came to a stop right beside her ten-year-old vehicle.
    Her brother sure knew how to make an entrance.
    “Brandon!” The exuberance in Janice’s voice left no doubt that she excused her eldest for his tardiness.
    Izzy bit the inside of her lip as she watched her mother wrap her arms around her son. He was the